


Labor of Love

by IndigoBetts



Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt Stephen Strange, M/M, Mpreg, Whump, Wong is a Good Bro (Marvel)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-07
Updated: 2019-04-07
Packaged: 2020-01-06 07:23:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18383699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IndigoBetts/pseuds/IndigoBetts
Summary: Tony was supposed to be able to sit this one out. He had promised Stephen he'd be there when the baby came, but instead he gets called into another battle.





	Labor of Love

**Author's Note:**

> Birthday fic for Colie, who has been so unbelievably patient with me as I try to figure out how to use tumblr.

“You’re kidding me, right? You know that he’s due any day now.”

_“Tony…Tony I wouldn’t be asking this of you if it wasn’t absolutely necessary. We need more fire power. We need you. Thor’s gone, Carol’s out of reach…”_

Tony had to lower the phone for a moment, clenching it in his hand as he swore. He was supposed to be able to sit this one out. Just one, just this one damn mission. 

He looked over at Stephen, who was leaning with one hand against the wall, the other rubbing his distended belly. Wong had finally pushed him through a portal to Kamar-Taj, three days ago, and there had so far been two false-labor scares. The baby really was coming any day, and Tony was supposed to have been given this one chance to ignore the outside world and be there with Stephen. 

_“Tony.”_ Bruce’s voice filtered through the phone again, sounding exhausted and weak and oh so sorry, _“Tony, the Guardian’s are on their way, but they’re on the other side of the galaxy…they won’t be here for-“_

Stephen met Tony’s eyes and nodded.

“Go.”

Tony was already cursing, crossing the room in three steps and taking Stephen’s face in his hands. 

“No.” He said, a whine to his voice, a plea, “No, no. Just this once. I’m supposed to have just this one damn time.”

“I know.” Stephen said, his rich voice soothing Tony’s nerves, even now. “But I can’t be there to help, either. They need you…and you’ll be back in time.”

Tony ran his thumbs along his lover’s cheekbones, drinking in his eyes. They’d only been together six months before the magical mishap in another dimension, and when Tony should have run screaming, he found himself falling harder for the man instead. For the little life growing in him. 

Tony kissed him, clenching the collar of the long blue robe Stephen wore over his simple tunic. The sorcerer was still trying to hide it, even now: too bad everyone knew. Tony smirked fondly, and pressed one hand to Stephen’s stomach, feeling a kick.

“Tell the little parasite to wait for me.”

Stephen smiled. 

“I will.”

**

-Three Days Ago-

_“I do not need to go anywhere…I’m fine right here. I like it here.”_

_Wong didn’t say a word, didn’t move a muscle. He stared at Stephen instead, and Tony almost burst out laughing at the look on the man’s face. To a casual viewer, Wong’s resting bitch-face might not have said much, but to those who knew him, it was currently screaming, ‘you dumbass’._

_Stephen, for his part, was leaning heavily over an old oak table, palms splayed and shaking as he adjusted his feet and winced. Thirty-eight weeks pregnant and supremely unhappy about it. Stephen had spent the morning ignoring the cramping and pain in his lower abdomen, brushing it off as Braxton-hicks contractions._

_He was right, but it wasn’t making him any less of a dumbass._

_Another one came, and Stephen hissed in a breath, shaking his head. It was far less sharp now than it had been an hour ago, but it didn’t mean it was any more pleasant._

_“Stephen.” Wong interjected, “We already discussed that you are not to give birth in the Sanctum. The magical energies alone-“_

_“-Could tear open a rift into a new dimension, summon demons, yes, yes I know, you told me.”_

_“Good. Then you will come to Kamar-Taj today.”_

_Stephen held up one finger, then straightened, still panting slightly._

_“No. I don’t need to-“_

_“Yes, you do.”_

_Tony rolled his eyes, watching the exchange with amusement. Stephen had been fighting every moment of this pregnancy for the past eight and half months, even so far as staying Master of the Sanctum despite the wariness of every other master involved in decision making at Kamar-Taj. And now, for whatever reason, he was fighting going to Nepal, where a very competent and pleasant sorceress named Millie, who also happened to be a fully trained midwife, was waiting for him._

_“Steph, babe.” Tony finally cut in, starting to feel badly for Wong, “If you don’t go now, you’ll end up giving birth in a subway station when you sneak out again for the donuts you like. Yes, I know you’ve been going. I will make sure you get donuts every day, but you need to go. Its time.”_

_Stephen shot Tony a death glare. He hated every moment of this. He’d gone through every phase of human emotion regarding the whole ordeal, and currently was just pissed off at everyone for constantly treating him like an invalid._

_“I don’t have to go any-“_

_“Stephen.” Wong cut him off, voice sharp. He raised a hand, holding a brand-new, shiny Starkphone, “If you do not come with me now, I will call Christine this instant. She will have you admitted to Metro-General before you can even untie your boots. You will then give birth in the hospital, among your former colleagues. Or, you will let me take you to Kamar-Taj.”_

_Stephen pressed his lips into a line, his eyes darting from the phone to Wong’s face and back again._

_“Fine.”_

**

Tony crashed, hitting the earth hard and the breath knocked out of him so soundly he wasn’t sure he would ever draw another back in. But draw breath he did, and he gave himself a moment to regather himself and whatever senses he had left as the aliens continued to swarm overhead. 

There were just too many. They aliens weren’t even that big, about the size of a large dog, but they could flit around on buzzy little wings and they had vicious claws and teeth. The worse part was, it wasn’t a fleet, it was a whole species, and there just weren’t enough of the good guys to fight off the ugly little bastards. It was a numbers game.

Still, they were trying. 

The Avengers were all exhausted, limping, but standing. The Guardians were still en-route, pushing their engines as hard as they could. Even Kamar-Taj, with their dwindled numbers, had sent sorcerers to help. But there weren’t enough. 

Tony blew out a sharp breath, standing, when Friday piped up.

“Boss, I have word that Doctor Strange has gone into labor.” She said, a hint of woe in her voice. 

A noise of regret worked its way from the center of Tony’s chest. That would explain why he hadn’t heard Stephen on the comms for a while. The man had still been helping to direct the battle, helping to aid from Kamar-Taj with another master. He should have known that Stephen would have timing like this: it was about as dramatic as a person could get. Still, the day Tony had been waiting for so eagerly was here. Their child was coming. 

Tony nodded, squaring his shoulders. 

“Tell him I’ll be there before it’s over, Fri.” 

“Will do, boss. And I’m routing power to the repulsors for a power boost now.”

“That’s my girl.”

**

-Three Months Ago-

_Christine was sitting one of the annoying little padded stools that was always broken Metro-General’s urgent care clinic. It was 2 am, and she had one ankle crossed over a knee and her face leaning on one fist while she scowled._

_Her face would have been hilarious to Stephen if he wasn’t currently laying with his feet in stirrups, all of his parts enjoying a breeze while Christine conversed with Millie, the sorceress midwife, who had been assisting Stephen so far._

_Stephen scowled, trying once again to count ceiling tiles as Tony gave his shoulder a pat._

_“Ladies…can I at least sit up?” He asked, not bothering to look at either of them, hands folded placidly on his chest._

_“No.” Christine said, “Not yet, we might need to take another look.”_

_Stephen took a deep, steadying breath and closed his eyes. A little over an hour ago, Stephen had woken from a deep sleep certain he was being stabbed. There was a pain in his lower abdomen like nothing he had ever felt, and it was so sudden and terrible he cried out, clutching his swollen belly and kicking out, confused and desperate, trying to stop the attack._

_Tony had jerked awake in an instant, and there were a confusing few minutes where he had struggled to get his bearings, get the lights on, and when he finally did, gauntlet on one hand and powered, he found the two of them alone in bed. Stephen was curled on himself, panting and groaning._

_“Steph? Stephen, babe, what is it, talk to me.” He asked, retracting the gauntlet and crawling to the other man. But Stephen shook his head, eyes screwed tightly shut and gritting his teeth. Tony’s panic only grew, and he threw the covers off, feeling his heart leap into his throat as he did so._

_Bright red blood, on the sheets and on Stephen’s legs, and so, so much of it._

_And two phone calls later and Wong was there, he and Tony on each side of Stephen, helping him through a portal to Metro-General, Millie close behind them. Christine was waiting for them, ready and as efficient and practical and warm as ever._

_To their surprise, and immense relief, the ultra-sound showed that the baby was just fine. Stephen, on the other hand, seemed to have formed a birth canal. (“Steph, babe! The baby has literally ripped you a new one.” Tony chuckled, unable to help himself.) And was why he was currently in said stirrups, everything he had to bare exposed._

_“I am very aware that everyone in this room has been deeply acquainted with my nether regions at this point, but a little dignity would be very appreciated right now.”_

_“Don’t be a baby.” Christine huffed, pulling the sheet over his legs as Millie chuckled and gave him a sympathetic look, “We’re trying to figure out how to best not kill you. Which all things considered, is a change of pace.”_

_Stephen took in another practiced breath, closing his eyes and trying to ignore the two women talking over him. He was halfway through what would be a normal pregnancy, but this was far from normal, and in there was the problem._

_The baby (he refused to learn what the sex was, despite pleading from Tony,) was perfectly healthy as far as any of them could tell, but Stephen’s body was paying the price for a pregnancy he shouldn’t be able to have. His organs were being pushed around, but his body wasn’t as sure how to go about it as a woman’s would be, and there was already too much pressure on his diaphragm as the child grew: Stephen was becoming short of breath easier and easier. He also wasn’t gaining the weight he should, but that was mostly from his own hard-headed habitus: Stephen routinely forgot to eat while he was working._

_And the delivery was apparently going to be…difficult. Christine and Millie were discussing the troubles with a caesarean at the moment, especially given Stephen’s anatomy. In fact, if he was hearing them right, it seemed as though they wanted him to actually push the thing out of him._

_Stephen pushed himself onto his elbows, looking at the two women. Christine in her sharp, expensive scrubs and Millie, the acolyte in her maroon robes and beaded necklace and he let out a little laugh at the sight._

_“I’m sorry, did you say, ‘natural labor?’”_

_“Stephen,” Christine started, looking tired, “We think it’s going to be the safest route.”_

_“You’re saying that, but what I’m hearing is that you want me to push an actual baby out of my body, using muscles I don’t have, through hips that aren’t supposed to-“_

_“You have the muscles.” Millie cut in, her light British accent making her sound far more serene than the situation called for, “The birth canal that seems to have formed will give you all you need.”_

_Stephen blinked and he could feel his breath coming in shorter and shorter pants._

_“I need off of this table and some privacy. Please. Now.”_

_Both Millie and Christine moved to help him out of the stirrups and to sit upright again, and Stephen heard Tony standing from where he’d been seated behind him, holding his Stephen’s pants and rubbing his shoulders. The two women vacated the room, Christine offering some coffee to the midwife, probably to continue talking about his case, and Stephen grabbed his pants._

_He looked down, still trying to control his breathing, and shook his head._

_“Tony…help.”_

_“Yup.” Tony was already around front, helping Stephen to balance himself as he re-dressed. When he had his pants back on, Stephen automatically turned, pulling the paper from the table and tossing it into a corner so he had somewhere clean to sit. And he did, flopping down hard, staring at the floor between his knees._

_“Stephen.” Tony’s voice was low, hands on his shoulders and rubbing them softly. He came to stand between Stephen’s knees, one hand cupping the sorcerer’s face, warm on his skin, “Stephen you’re shaking.”_

_“I’m fucking terrified.”_

_Stephen felt a thumb caress his cheek._

_“Hey, look at me.” He coaxed gently, and Stephen listened to that voice, always listened, and looked up at the man, “I’m here with you. Every step. I’m scared too, Stephen, you scared the shit out of me tonight. But you and I…we’re in this together. I promise.”_

_Stephen smiled, pressing his hand against Tony’s, turning to kiss his palm._

_“You weren’t just told you have to push a baby out instead of let the miracle of modern medicine remove it.” Stephen said, talking into Tony’s hand._

_“I’d do it for you if I could.”_

_Stephen looked up, seeing nothing but sincerity and adoration in honey coated eyes._

_“I love you.”_

_“I know.” Tony chuckled, and he knelt down, putting Stephen’s shoes on for him, keeping the laces loose as the two considered what was to come._

 

**

Stephen fell back against the headboard, panting, managing to both wince away and lean into the cool cloth Wong was pressing against his face. He sucked in a deep breath, hands clenching and unclenching in the blankets around him.

“Where is he?!”

“Stephen, he’s fighting-“

“I know that!” Stephen gulped, still catching his breath, “I know where he is but _where is he_?”

It sounded pathetic to say it out loud. Stephen knew damn well where Tony was. He’d left eight hours ago. Stephen had been in labor for four, his water breaking rather unexpectedly as he helped debrief the other sorcerers who were going to add numbers to the fight. 

But it didn’t change the fact that Tony was supposed to be here, and he wasn’t. 

Millie came back in, a glass of ice in her hand, which she handed to Wong before lifting the blanket and parting Stephen’s knees with a gentle touch.

Stephen fought from kicking her. She was too damn comforting and sensible about it all. And she currently had her fingers up his…whatever it was. She was too calm, and too gentle, and Stephen was starting to hate everything about her, from her tidy hair to her stupid accent. It was so stupid. 

“You still have a while, yet, Stephen.” She said levelly, rubbing his calf before returning the blanket to its place. Winter in Nepal was awfully cold. “There will be plenty of time for Mr Stark to save the world and make it back here.”

Stephen decided instead that she wasn’t so bad and nodded, then grit his teeth as the pain started up again, lassoing from his spine and around to his front. He groaned, gripping Wong’s arm with all the strength in his hand. 

“Breathe through it, Stephen.” Wong reminded him, looking indifferent to the way Stephen was man-handling him.

It was all Stephen could do to just nod and wait for the contraction to pass. Tony would be back before it was over. He had promised. 

**

-Six Months Ago-

_The fight had not gone well, at least not for Stephen. He was exhausted beyond words at all hours of the day, thirstier than he had ever been in his life, and just slightly dizzy all day long._

_But it didn’t stop some kid with a decent mind for robotics and a chip on his shoulder to harness the energy from a minor tear in reality and infuse it to his machines, leading them on a rampage through downtown Pittsburgh. (Which broke the rules: this stuff was supposed to happen in New York.)_

_Stephen had immediately been called on, and he had portalled the Avengers to the other city, joining them to find the tear and repair it._

_And frankly, it should have been stupid-easy. The kid didn’t exactly have an army, and his hold on the inter-dimensional energy was tenuous at best. Stephen, however, had managed to get his ass thoroughly handed to him._

_Three of the mechanical bots were lunging for him, glowing with a purple aura, and Stephen had merely raised an eyebrow, holding his hand out and fully intending to rend them bolt from bolt. Instead, he suddenly had his whole world shift sideways, a wave of hitting him and leaving him gasping. Normally, he just needed a moment to breathe and it would pass, but in his current situation, a moment to breathe was the perfect moment for him to take a solid hit to the ribs from a bot, sending him crashing to the ground and even more breathless than before._

_He was certain he could make out multiple people swearing a variety of colorful ways over the comm in his ear. He knew he needed to open his eyes and get up, but any time he tried, Stephen felt as though the world was pushing him down, the lights swirling around him._

_He could hear boots running on pavement, followed by several small explosions, and Stephen groaned, clutching his head._

_“Doc?”_

_Stephen felt someone gripping his arm and he shook his head. A few words of encouragement and someone had him standing, his arm looped over their shoulders and heading away from the fight. He was deposited in an alley and Stephen was finally able to look up, the cold air of the night stinging against his sweaty neck._

_Clint Barton was crouched in front of him, face lined with genuine concern._

_“They hit you with something?”_

_Stephen nodded, not caring about appearances._

_“Caught me in the ribs.”_

_Clint grunted, shaking his head._

_“I saw,” He said, “But you were going down before they hit ya.”_

_Stephen took a steadying breath._

_“Dizzy.” He admitted. Why not, at this point? “I was feeling unwell earlier today…I didn’t think it was this bad.”_

_Blessedly, Barton took him at his word. He wasn’t really lying, anyway._

_“You might be the village witch but your still just a human.” The archer said, “I’ve been there. Threw up on Nat’s shoes once. Jesus if I ever thought I was gonna die..”_

_Even Stephen chuckled at that. Still, there was work to be done._

_“I need to get to the tear. Unless someone else learned sorcery that I’m not aware of, I’m still the only one who can close it.”_

_Clint nodded again, taking a glance out of the alleyway, then helping Stephen back up. Between the two of them, they were able to maneuver themselves to the tear, locked up the basement of an old auto-shop, and Stephen closed it with only moderate difficulty. Once it was done, he sat down heavily on a discarded mini-van seat, holding his head._

_Stephen vaguely heard Barton talking into the comms, and was only partially aware of the passage of time before Tony’s voice, present and real came into the room, the sound of retracting nanites following him._

_“Hey, Stephen.” He asked, crouching in front of the sorcerer, “You doing okay?”_

_In response, Stephen threw up on Tony’s shoes._

_Barton was laughing loudly, and Tony looked like he had no idea what to do at the moment, brows furrowed as he looked at his expensive shoes. Stephen dry heaved once more, before declaring that he was feeling better. It was decided that Stephen could portal himself and Tony back home, while Barton insisted that he not worry about the others: there was a food joint here that put French fries on the sandwiches, and he was dying to try it. Besides, everyone else could do with a beer._

_So Stephen and Tony went home, both of them washing up in the same shower, Tony gently washing Stephen’s hair as they stood under the spray, neither speaking. It wasn’t until Stephen was sitting on the edge of the bed in a t-shirt and a pair of Stark Expo pajama pants that Tony finally spoke up._

_“You should tell us if you’re sick.” He said, quietly, pulling on a t-shirt himself, and then holding a hand to Stephen’s forehead. “It’s actually okay to sit one out now and then. You don’t have a fever though, so that’s good.”_

_“I’m not sick.” Stephen said, sounding less grumpy and more…small._

_Tony snorted, running a hand through Stephen’s hair._

_“You passed out mid-fight and threw up on my favorite pair of shoes.”_

_“I’m pregnant.”_

_“You’re pregnant?” Tony repeated, hand still in Stephen’s hair. The sorcerer nodded._

_“Yup.” He sighed, deflating further. “Maybe…three months at this point? I’m honestly not entirely sure.”_

_“You’re pregnant.” Tony repeated again._

_Stephen looked up, giving Tony a withering look before casting his eyes to the ground again. They hadn’t even been together a year. And now Stephen was pregnant, which in a relationship with two men, was supposed to be guaranteed not to happen._

_He could feel himself shaking. Tony wouldn’t want this, he didn’t need this. Stephen had been putting off telling him just so he could stretch out whatever remaining days with Tony he could get. He was in love with the man, and he kept telling himself that he’d tell him tomorrow. Tony wouldn’t want –_

_“Well, I guess that explains some things.” Tony said, kneeling now so he could still hold Stephen’s gaze. There was a warm smile on his lips, and his fingers trailed to Stephen’s stomach, tracing invisible lines there. “Like this.”_

_Stephen snorted, blinking back tears that were starting to sting at his eyes._

_“You mean me getting fat?”_

_“An adorable bit of pudge that I thought meant you were finally eating enough?” Tony laughed. “Stephen, can all wizards…?”_

_“No. We’re not sure how this one happened…this isn’t common, even for sorcerers.”_

_“Huh.” Tony tilted his head, still tracing Stephen’s stomach with soft touches. “Are…am I the father?”_

_“You’re the only one I’ve been with, Tony.” Stephen whispered, “But I still don’t know how…”_

_Tony stood, taking Stephen’s face in his hands and he kissed him. Gently and softly and with so much love that Stephen nearly wept. When he finally pulled away, Tony was smiling, brilliant and wide and Stephen felt his stomach flip at how achingly wonderful the man looked, and still couldn’t believe those smiles were ever for him._

_“Steph, I don’t care how. You’re the most amazing person I’ve ever met…” He laughed a little, leaning Stephen back on the bed, gently crawling over him, one hand resting on Stephen’s belly, over that tiny little buldge there, “And we’re going to be fathers.”_

_“You’re okay with this?”_

_Tony answered him with a kiss, nodding and laughing happily._

_“And I’ll be with you, every single step of the way.”_

 

**

A payload. They had one now, cobbled together by Tony and Peter, and it would be big enough to wipe out the mothership. Cut off the head, and the others would die. 

The problem was going to be delivering it. 

Of the few Avengers still standing, Tony could see the weariness. Clint was bleeding steadily from a gash in his shoulder, leaning against a crumbling brick wall, still holding his bow at the ready. Wanda was sniffing, rubbing away tears she was desperately trying to hide and Peter…Peter was dirty as could be, caked in mud and blood -human and alien- but standing tall. 

Thor and Danvers were still out of contact range. Guardians were close, getting closer…but they couldn’t be contacted while they were slipping through the jump-points. No one knew where they were, how far. 

FRIDAY lit up a little icon, and Tony’s eyes locked on it immediately. 

“Fri?”

“Boss, Wong has indicated that Doctor Strange’s labor has progressed. He said they’re urging him to push now. Shall I open a channel?”

“Please.”

Tony instantly heard a cacophony of noise: the midwife’s soothing, calm tones, reminding Stephen to breathe. Wong was talking to Stephen, let him know Tony was on speakerphone, trying to get his attention.

Stephen wasn’t screaming, but it was close. Tony’s heart twisted, and all he wanted to do was to rush to Nepal as quick as he could, kneel next to Stephen and hold his hand while the world crumbled. 

“Stephen.” He called, “Stephen, babe, can you hear me?”

In Kamar-Taj, Stephen collapsed back again, panting, one hand gripping the bar of the headboard behind his head. He swallowed a gulp of air, eyes darting around the room. 

“Tony?” 

Next to him, Wong nodded, wiping the sweat from his face again. 

“He’s on speaker, Stephen.” 

“Tony…what’s going on? Why aren’t you back?”

_“I’m working on it, Steph, I promise.”_ Came the voice, just a touch of static. _“We’re doing fine over here. It’s you I’m worried about.”_

“Tony, I-GAH!”

Stephen’s fist twisted on the bar, back and neck arching as another contraction hit. His body couldn’t seem to decide between doubling over and arching him like a bow. Logically, he knew one was going to be better than the other, but he was past thinking with logic by this point. 

_“Stephen?”_

Stephen cried out again, nodding furiously when the midwife yelled at him to push. He could feel the urge, but he was so damn scared of trying to push this baby out. He wasn’t designed for this, he was supposed to-

_“Listen to her, Stephen, you can do this!”_

The contraction ended, and Stephen slumped into the bed again, feeling tears pricking at his eyes along with the sting of sweat. He was dizzy, and he knew he was losing blood. He was already hooked up to an IV, and they had a supply of fluids and even blood for a transfusion on hand, but it didn’t make the very real possibility of a hemorrhage any less frightening. 

“Tony…I can’t…don’t make me.”

Stephen didn’t care that he was begging. He didn’t ask for this, but he had thought he could handle it with more dignity than he was showing now. It was as though his world and narrowed down to fear and pain and why wasn’t Tony here?

On the other side of the world, Tony breathed out a harsh sigh, heart twisting at how tired, how frightened Stephen sounded. He should be there, he had sworn he would be. 

“I know, I know.” He said, taking in the new readings of another wave of invaders FRIDAY was flashing at him, “If I could do it for you, I would.”

Stephen didn’t have time to respond, Wong helping coax him into a new position as cried out, doubling over this time as a new wave hit. The midwife was nodding between his knees, urging him to bear down. Stephen clenched his teeth, shaking with effort as he tried to do as told. Wong slid behind him, holding his shoulders and trying to support him. 

Tony looked around at the people around him, letting his mask flip back for one moment, needing to take a breath of fresh air, feel it on his face. Clint turned to him with one eyebrow up.

“Any news from Hogwarts?” The archer asked, voice unusually soft.

“He’s close. It could be any minute now, I think.”

Clint nodded, reaching over and clapping him on the shoulder. Wanda just looked shocked. No one else had known that Stephen was in labor. They knew he was due soon, but Tony had held out hope yet that he’d be there. 

He looked up at the sky, the rain dripping through the remains of the roof, and watched the stars. It was an unfairly beautiful night.

“Is Doctor Strange okay?”

Peter’s voice broke Tony out of his thoughts, sounding small and scared. Tony looked back at him, and smirked. 

“He’s doin well, Pete.” He promised. The boy looked infinitely relieved, and nodded, smiling a bit as his shoulders sagged. 

The line to Nepal was still playing in his ear, though only he could hear it. The midwife was getting the point of shouting to be heard over Stephen, coaching him. Another good push and the baby should be crowning. 

FRIDAY beeped a warning at him, the same warning coming over the communicators. 

They were coming. 

Tony took a deep, shuddering breath in through his nose, pursing his lips. 

“Right.” He said, firmly, standing and shaking his hands out. “Pete…you’re in charge.”

“Mister Stark?”

Tony flipped the visor closed, firing his repulsors and levitating off the ground. 

“I’ve got a package to deliver.”

**

Stephen could barely see at this point, his vision blurred and stars sparkling in the corners. A living child was trying to push its way out of him and it was going to kill him in the process.

There was almost no time to breathe between the contractions now, and Stephen was certain his body was being torn apart. The pain ramped up again, and he screamed, one hand squeezing Wong’s leg as the man sat behind him, one hand on his back, rubbing circles. 

He pushed for all he worth, trembling on the bed. 

“That’s it, Stephen! Don’t stop…keep pushing, keep pushing, I can see the head!”

Her voice sounded so distant, and the only thing Stephen knew at this point was instinct. A horrible, unyielding pressure from somewhere around his hips and back was crowding out every other thought he might have had. 

_“You’re doing great, Stephen.”_ Tony’s voice cut through the cacophony of noise and fog and pain, _“You’re almost there.”_

Stephen gulped down a breath. 

“Where are you?” he called out, looking wildly around the room. Before Tony could even answer he bore down again, an instinct to push he shouldn’t even have overcoming everything else. 

_“I’m on my way.”_

Stephen screamed, the sound raw and animalistic. The midwife was shouting again, encouraging, and Stephen felt something give way. 

“Just one more push, Stephen! One more and you’ll be done!”

Stephen clenched his jaw, crying out behind his lips and doubling over, eyes screwed shut as he concentrated on pushing, pushing with everything he had left. He didn’t think it was much, didn’t know if he had the strength-

Then relief. A rush of something warm and wet around his legs and a feeling of overwhelming relief. He collapsed back, head lolling onto Wong’s shoulder as he tried to suck in a breath. 

**

_“Stark…you have a son.”_

Wong’s voice was steady, but there was a heaviness behind him that Tony could make out even through the static. Friday was rerouting power to the feed, that beautiful girl, giving the last of what they had to the thrusters and just hearing Stephen and his child, that staccato cry of a newborn pitching in through the speakers.

His child.

He broke into a grin, smiling brighter than any of the stars around him. The payload he was carrying seemed to weigh nothing, and the stars, for just once, looked peaceful to him.

“Stephen, you did it.” He laughed, “You did it. It’s a boy.”

In Nepal, Stephen was opening his eyes again, Wong still supporting him quietly from behind. His breath was coming in unsteady, stuttering gasps, and he’d never felt so tired, so exhausted in his life. 

“It’s a boy?” he asked, the midwife pushing a squirming bundle into his arms as she smiled at him. 

“Ten fingers, ten toes. And a bit of luck to start,” She said, the gold spark of a spell falling over the infant, “Perfectly healthy little boy.”

Stephen looked down at the child in his arms, which was squealing with brand new lungs, face pink and scrunched and it was the most wonderful sight he had ever seen. His face broke into a smile, a small laugh escaping between his panting breaths.

“Tony…what do we name him?”

_“What about Vincent?”_

Tony’s voice was starting to gain more and more static, but there was joy in his voice, even over the comms and so, so far away. Stephen chuckled, touching the baby’s cheek with a shaking hand.

“Vincent? No, we can’t do that to a child. That’s awful.”

_“What about Ed?”_

“Edward?” Stephen asked.

_“No…Edwin.”_

Stephen nodded, smirking once. He was still dizzy.

“Edwin. I like that.”

_“Stephen,”_ Tony’s voice was getting hard to hear now. _“Stephen, I love you both. More than anything.”_

Stephen scowled slightly, looking up. 

“Tony?”

Wong was gripping his shoulder’s harder now.

“Tony, where are you? Tony!”

_“I love you. I –“_

There was a burst of static, and the line cut off. Stephen was trembling, trying desperately to just hold the child. He didn’t know, he didn’t understand…

He turned his head, eyes wide against a pale face.

“…Wong?”

Wong didn’t answer, instead sliding out from behind Stephen, encouraging him to lay back on the pillows. He gripped Stephen’s shoulders, shaking his head, lips pursed and eyes holding a sadness that the sorcerer had scarce seen before.

He could hear the midwife saying something, but Stephen wasn’t listening to her. The room was starting to spin. In the back of his mind, Stephen knew he was losing blood far too rapidly.

Wong put a calloused, warm hand on his head. 

“I’m so sorry, Stephen.”

Stephen let out a strangled moan, shaking his head. The midwife was saying something again, and urgency in her voice, and Wong turned, speaking rapidly with her. He came back a moment later, fitting an oxygen mask over Stephen’s face even as he struggled against it. 

“No, no, no…”

“Take the baby, quickly. Put him in the bassinette, I need your help…”

“It’ll be alright Stephen.”

Someone was taking his baby from his arms. Stephen couldn’t see who, his vision was tunnelling. He felt so cold and alone and all he could see now were the stars. 

He wondered if it was what Tony was seeing.

**

-Two Days Later –

Stephen heard the world around him, first, but he was still trying to pick out what was real and what was a dream. He could hear a voice, talking low and quiet, a voice he loved, and little hiccups and…snoring? He frowned, not sure what to make of that, and forced his eyes open. It was hard, and he had to blink several times to get anything to focus. 

It looked like a room at Kamar-Taj, painted in soft yellows and oranges. There was a tugging sensation in his arm that he recognized as an IV, and everything felt sore. Everywhere. But the voice…that voice. 

“Morning, Stephen.” 

Stephen slowly turned his head, and Tony smiled at him, reaching to brush some hair from his face. He was holding a bundle close to his chest, his knuckles bloody and his face a mess of bruises, but he looked happy, sitting next to Stephen in bed.

“Tony?” Stephen asked, voice feeling raw even to him. He was still chasing away the cobwebs of sleep…why was it taking him so long to wake up? What had…

The buddle Tony was holding moved, and suddenly he remembered. And he must have looked startled because Tony pressed his hand, warm and real, to Stephen’s forehead.

“Shh, love.” He said, “You’re okay. You’re both okay…I’ve missed you.”

Stephen wanted to sit up, wanted to reach for the bundle, but he wasn’t sure if he could move just yet. Memories were starting to slot into place.

“We thought…I thought you…”

Tony nodded. 

“I know. And I almost did. But Quill got there just in time. Literally the last second, you should have heard him hollering.” Tony brushed his face again, “I got here as fast as I could…God, Stephen, you were in worse shape than me. You almost…”

“Sorry.” Stephen said, and he meant it. 

A loud snore broke the moment, and Stephen frowned, turning his head to the other side. Next to his bedside, slumped and arms crossed was Wong. Chin in his chest, Wong was snoring softly, and Stephen wondered how long a vigil he had kept. He did know the man was going to regret the position he was sleeping in horribly once he woke up. Tony chuckled.

“He hasn’t left. Wanted to make sure you woke up, first.” Tony supplied, “We had an agreement…if I couldn’t be here with you, he would. We weren’t going to leave you alone.”

Stephen watched the man sleep a little bit, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. He finally turned back to Tony, and the little pile of blankets he was cradling. An overwhelming feeling of want flooded him.

“Tony…can I?”

“Course you can. Want to sit up a little?” 

Stephen nodded, and Tony was able to help him sit against his pillows with one arm while still holding their child in the other. He then gently passed the baby to Stephen, who held the child against him, watching as the infant curled it’s tiny hand around one of his fingers. 

Tony slid behind Stephen, one arm around his waist, the other helping support the sorcerer’s arm. 

“I think he was worth it.”

**Author's Note:**

> This originally had a much sadder ending. Glad I changed it, because we need more fluff in this world. Also, Wong is the best bro.


End file.
